Kings and Queens
by superlunary
Summary: An attempt to write a Draco Malfoy one-shot, intertwined with the lyrics from Kings and Queens by 30 Seconds to Mars. Enjoy?


_**Disclaimer: I don't own Kings and Queens. All rights go to 30 Seconds To Mars. Same for Harry Potter- not to 30STM, though. To JK Rowling.**_

 **Into the night**

 **Desperate and broken**

Draco grits his teeth as he pushes into the woods. He leaves behind the dark roses whose thorns have scratched his skin and burnt craters onto his arms with fingertips like cigarettes. The darkness consumes him as the branches fall in place again, blocking the only way out. Now there is no going back.

 **The sound of a fight**

 **Father has spoken**

The war is at its peak, blossoming behind and before him. His wand rests helplessly on his inside pocket- he cannot believe the extent of his surrender; he is so powerless, so resigned, he lets his legs guide him blindly away, under the pathetic orders of his agonising father. He never had much of a chance at the war. _Death Eather_. Draco knows death doesn't nurture you: it poisons you.

 **We were the kings and queens of promise**

 **We were the victims of ourselves**

And he realises that all this time, as he fell, enchanted by the childish illusion of walking on the right path, a new world floated before his clouded eyes.

 **Maybe the children of a lesser God**

 **Between Heaven and Hell**

 **Heaven and Hell**

And then all of a sudden he changed. He came back as a completely different person, with a new mindset, a new gaze, a new soul. A boy who once cared too much about dignity and pride no longer cared at all.

 **Into your eyes**

 **Hopeless and taken**

Draco's eyelashes flutter, dance, and fray. A cold tear trails down his pallid skin, void of its usual confidence: all he needs is someone to plant seeds of closed hope on the crook of his neck- whenever he holds his chin too low, they will gently guide him up and steady his pace.

 **We stole our new lives**

 **Through blood and name**

 **In defense of our dreams**

His feet are cold on the harsh meadow he walks upon. The drizzle isn't such any longer- the curtain of rain falls down in torrents, scarring the ancient ground and the dreams buried underneath. Draco's shoulders hunch down under the pressure of gravity and the pull of a family legacy crumbling down to ashes. A gust of wind scatters it around.

The Dark Arts had given him their word. Only now does he realise how naive he had dared to be, believing every single lethal lie they had thrown out at him. But he had been weak, and they knew what to tell him to weave a daydream of security into his young mind. Now he knows. Now he has found out that no one ever stays, and no one ever cares.

But he misses being a kid, for a scratched knee is easier to heal than a broken heart.

 **We were the kings and queens of promise**

 **We were the victims of ourselves**

But he knows he brought it on himself. He doesn't blame the storm. He doesn't blame the Dark Lord. He doesn't blame the scar on a child's forehead. This -this conflict tearing his mind apart- is an entirely different matter, a war only Draco can feel.

With a cry of frustration, he tugs at his damp hair and yells out a faltering hope.

 **Maybe the children of a lesser God**

 **Between Heaven and Hell**

 **Heaven and Hell**

Wrapped up on his thoughts, he trips and stumbles. There is a sliver of conscience left on his mind, but it's enough for him to regain his balance and grab a low-hanging branch. the rough skin of the wood sinks onto his skin deeply. Draco presses against its pressure. Maybe pain is the answer. Maybe he needs to feel.

 **The age of man is over**

 **A darkness comes at dawn**

He steals a furtive glance over his shoulder. The castle glimmers over the hills, rays of green and red light stabbing the misty air. Draco's wand, now a dead weight on his robe, seems to grow heavier. _Sometimes it isn't enough to fix what is broken_ , he tells himself grimly. _Sometimes you have to start all over again, and create something better._

 **These lessons that we've learned here**

 **Have only just begun**

And he will. Draco isn't sure about _how_ he is going to do it, but he knows he will redeem himself. _Let's start over_ , he tells himself, not allowing his thoughts to quiver. _Who knows? Maybe this time I won't mess it up._

 **We were the kings and queens of promise**

 **We were the victims of ourselves**

 **Maybe the children of a lesser God**

 **Between Heaven and Hell.**

And maybe it is not possible for him to start over, but it is possible to start again and make a new ending.


End file.
